France prosecutes the first man under its new anti-catcalling law for assaulting a woman on a bus

The first man to be prosecuted under France's new catcalling law has been given a €300 ($486) fine for sexually assaulting a woman on a bus near Paris.

The man, who was not identified, slapped the woman's bottom and made lewd remarks about her during rush hour on the bus in the suburb of Evry last Friday.

He also received a nine-month jail sentence, including a six-month suspended sentence after a separate attack on the bus driver, Evry vice-prosecutor Marie-Celine Lawrysz told CNN.

Police were called after the driver jammed the bus doors closed to prevent the assailant from escaping.

"The man was in his 30s and inebriated," Lawrysz explained. "He smacked the bottom of a 21-year-old woman during rush hour on the bus in Evry. The man then insulted the young woman, he called her a "whore" and said she had "big boobs."

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"Bravo for the bus driver's quick-wittedness and the penalty imposed. Together we will put an end to sexist and sexual violence."

The fine marks the first time the new law, which applies to wolf whistles and similar harassment, has been used to prosecute someone since it was approved in July.

France's National Assembly passed the new law banning sexual or sexist comments that are "degrading, humiliating, intimidating, hostile or offensive."

Harassment in public could warrant hefty, on-the-spot fines from 90 to 750 euros ($146 to $1217).

A 2015 survey for the French Institute for Demographic Studies found that 20% of the female respondents reported receiving wolf whistles, 8% reported being insulted and 3% reported being followed in public spaces over a span of a year. Physical violence was reported by 1.3% of women, according to the survey, which had 27,000 respondents.